Robert Hawkins

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Infrastructure held its public review on Bill 60, An Act to Amend the Motor Vehicles Act, No. 2, on September 16, 2015.

Bill 60 amends the Motor Vehicles Act to eliminate references to validation stickers which are no longer used and enable the registrar to apply terms and conditions when reinstating a licence and to suspend or cancel a licence if medical examination requirements are not met, strengthen distracted driving legislation, establish unique offences for each kilometre by which a driver exceeds the maximum speed...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. For the past 35 years, the Yellowknife Day Care Association has been providing quality daycare services in a downtown GNWT-owned building, but now they’ve reached the absolute critical impasse and they need our help more than ever.

ECE has come to the strange decision that it is now time that the daycare has to go, and they’ve given them their notice. That’s right. Minister Jackson Lafferty is telling these kids it’s time to go. So, as each kid, as the daycare starts the day by turning on the lights and they get the important services of child care up and running for 55...

I am pretty confident this will be my last question, which is the underlying cost of this situation. I’ve been around for some time and I’ve yet to hear an employer say how they enjoy paying WSCC premiums and they always say they pay too much. Whether that’s true or not is not necessarily for me to say; the actuary folks make those types of decisions. They have a science behind it. Again, I’m not in the right position to say agree or whatnot. I just find it confusing and let them deal with that.

That said, I’m curious on the change and that projected cost. What is the big change right now...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It’s unusual to hear a criticism of timing in this regard, but that was pretty fast. It doesn’t usually work that fast. Maybe more for me, as opposed to the public, but that said, it would probably help the public as well. Why so fast? It’s unusual to have an amendment brought forward so quickly. Was it because it’s a trend across Canada or is it because it was something you had been eyeing before or something else that came into play? I mean, to be honest, it’s quite remarkable to have something proposed in March, unless it’s the gravest emergency that we have to...

I thank the Minister for that answer. Were there any requested issues, such as disease, ailments, asked for by the firefighters that did not make the final cut of the lists of amendments proposed by the department? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Infrastructure held its public review of Bill 45, An Act to Amend the Workers’ Compensation Act, on September 17, 2015. The committee thanks the Minister and his staff for presenting the bill.

Bill 45 amends the definition of listed diseases specific to firefighters to identify five additional forms of cancer. The committee initiated one amendment of the bill which was adopted during the public hearing with the Minister’s concurrence. This amendment changes the coming into force clause of the bill to March 17, 2015, to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister has done nothing but cause frustration with me. That is because all he’s talked about is, sure, we’ve met with them and I can provide you the dates and good things like that. I keep wanting to know what are you going to do. The daycare, yesterday, I believe, sent out an e-mail to all their parents. I believe they, as they do in daycare, they put the letter in the bag for the kids to make sure they take it home so the parents aren’t surprised. All those parents have been informed. Fifty-five parents have been informed that this daycare’s history, life story...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Infrastructure certainly worked tirelessly on its review of the public review of Bill 61, An Act to Amend the Public Airports Act. We did that on September 16, 2015.

Bill 61 amends the Public Airports Act to increase the maximum lease duration for Commissioner’s public airports land to 30 years, specified disposal procedures for unclaimed property and synchronize the regulations of traffic and pedestrians with the Motor Vehicles Act.

The bill also makes consequential amendments respecting enforcement to the Motor...

Well, let’s go down that little path about his office diligently working with them. They only received formal notice a couple days ago on this particular initiative. They’ve been approached even not that long ago to say, well, let’s kick them out in March, but I think someone understood that little kids walking with small lunch bags and suitcases and maybe boxes that are probably bigger than them looking for a place to go is probably not the right public image they want.

In short, the daycare says no one from ECE is working with them. They’ve said, “Hey, July 31, there’s the door, be out, find...

Thank you for that, Minister. The other area that I have concern, although I have to admit it didn’t necessarily garner committee support, but it still doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter to me even less, which is the fact that I’m not convinced that the way we are proposing to change the distracted driving offences is the right direction when it comes to how we suspend.

I think, in my opinion, we should increase the value of the demerits, and once you’ve reached the limit of your demerits because these offences have now become very steep, that alone by de facto suspends your licence rather than...